The journey into the cloud

Ok, so I am still patiently waiting for Max Seybold to send me my free Cherrypal computer and I hoping that the package that USPS failed to get to me the other day was it.  The dang nab postman guy never wants to leave packages for me in the lobby. Just because I live in Oaktown, does not mean my package is going to ripped if it is left in my apartment’s lobby. This really puts a crimp in my ebay binges. Okay, little postal rant aside let me get back to the topic really at hand: My cherrypal computer’s arrival.

a little cherry history

So it has been around six months since I first ran into the Cherryal’s free computer ad on craigslist. Having a dinosaur for a PC I decided :”what the heck” and emailed the company to see what the catch was. A few days later I got a e-mail from a guy called Max Seybold, who told me that he was trying to launch a new type of cloud computer to the public and was looking for a number of internet savvy writers who would be willing to test it out and put their thoughts (good or bad) about this new approach to computing out there on cyberspace.  Being a blogger and curious about this new machine that was supposed to be “sweeter than an apple” yet used only 2 watts of power and was the size of a cable modem prompted me to express my interest in becoming a brand angel.

Several more weeks past, and I was just about to give up on the idea of getting a new PC for free when I was finally contacted by one of Seybold’s associates who told me that Max appreciated my enthusiasm to help launch his bold new project that utilized cloud computing an assured me that I will be getting a brand angel application via e-mail shortlly.

“Neato!” I told myself, since talking to myself  was habit of mine. Finally, I would be getting my hands on a cool new gizmo that was touting itself as th ecomputer of the future. I looked up thier homepage checked out the little machine’s specs…

Freescale’s MPC5121e mobileGT processor, 800
MIPS (400 MHz) of processing
256 MB of DDR2 DRAM
8GB NAND Flash-based solid state drive
(increased from 4GB C100)
WiFi 802.11b/g Wi-Fi
Two USB 2.0 ports
One 10/100 Ethernet with RJ-45 jack
One VGA DB-15 display out jack
Headphone level stereo audio out 3.5mm jack
9vDC 2.5mm 10 watt AC-DC adapter power supply
Weighs 10 ounces
1.3” high, 5.8” x 4.2” wide

It was certainly a tiny little thing. I was also a bit disconcerted of the lack of ports, but then again, hubs are not too pricey. It boasted  a freescale processor, which boasted a triple core design that eliminated inefficiency and  cut the power usage. The 400mhz speed and the small storage space   the was also a bit hard to wrap my head around. 256 mb’s of DDR Ram also seemed a bit short.  We live in world of Giga And Tera now, and this machine was boasting sizes and speeds that were considered top notch almost a full decade ago. But what the heck do I know, I am just a writer.

Doing some research I learned that the secret to this new computer was the cloud operating technology that it planned to use.  The thing was going to use a browser based operating system and provide its users with 50 gigs of storage space.  Instead of shoving more things into the box, Cherrypal was planning to take everything it can out of it.

Curly cue light bulbs, hybrid cars, reusable shopping bags, bike to work days… People are becoming more and more environmentally conscience these days. Does it really have something to do with that Al Gore Movie? Who knows. Personally, I fell asleep fifteen minutes into it and never attempted watch it agin. Those first fifteen minutes gave me the general gist of the flick anyway. global warming, dying penguins, blah, blah, blah. But I do not need some guy who lost an election to an organ grinder named Dick (guess who his monkey is) to know that humankind’s penchant for fossil fuels is wreaking havoc on the Earth’s eco-system. I do not need to be bored to death by his stiff, forced yammering on, to know that it is only going to get worse as our population expands to Malthusian levels. Nope, old Al Gore doesn’t have to tell me that we are heading for a future dystopia unless we began to do something about and change the way we live. I have been knowing about this kinda of shit since I was kid. It had been drilled in to relentlessly through television programming and 16 years of public schooling. I am a trained recycling robot who cannot help but be environmentally conscience. I have been forced fed Captain Planet and weekly reader and have celebrated Earthday by planting a tree . I know that every little bit helps, no matter how small the contribution and if everybody in California bought just one curly cue bulb to use, that it would be as if thier were a 30,000 vehicles off the road, or something like that.

No Al Gore, you are preaching to the choir. I have already been doing my part. I ride my bike to work practically everyday, and I switched every single light bulb in my house to one of those curly cues. I turn off all the lights when I leave and even try to remember to unplug my charger. I wipe with recycled toilet paper and have practiced if its yellow let it mellow until my girlfriend almost strangled me. Hell I am pratically a damn smelly hippy, and prod of it. Hooray Mother Earth!

Perhaps going green is just starting to make better sense to people now that fuel costs have reached staggering heights. Trading in a hummer for a hybrid, or doing things to cut household energy costs now makes a heck of a lot of sense to Joe and Jane America now that their bank accounts are feeling the squeeze from the rising costs.

But hey, who says being environmentally conscience means that you can’t save a few bucks also. Growing up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan , learned early on about the economic values of reduce, reuse, recycle. Mason jars make great cups and you can make a small fortune collecting pop cans and turning them in are two lessons every ten year snot nosed Yooper kid learns early on.

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